Memorial Day is when we pause and honor those who gave their lives for our freedom. Some were famous men who died in battle. Others were unknown soldiers killed in historic battles. How much do you know about America’s military history? Test your knowledge with this short quiz.

1. Which single-day battle had the most American combat deaths?

A: Battle of the Bulge

B: Gettysburg

C: Bunker Hill

D: Antietam

Answer: D. The deadliest single-day battle in American history was the Civil War’s Battle of Antietam, with 23,000 casualties, including 3,675 Union and Confederate soldiers killed.

2. This ill-fated military action during America’s “Cold War” with international communism claimed four American lives and nearly undermined a new president.

A: The Gulf of Tonkin

B: The Bay of Pigs

C: The Berlin Airlift

D: The London Blitz

Answer: B. Four American CIA operatives died during the failed 1961 attempt by U.S.-backed Cuban exiles to overthrow Fidel Castro. They were pilots from the Alabama Air National Guard who flew B-26 bombers in support of the invasion.

3. This famous American died at the Alamo during the Texas Revolution, but he never fired a shot.

A: Davy Crockett

B: William Travis

C: James Bowie

D: Daniel Boone

Answer: C. When Mexican Gen. Santa Anna’s forces took the Alamo in 1836, they killed nearly every combatant, including the bedridden Bowie. He was sick, possibly with typhoid or tuberculosis, for the entire siege.

4. The Spanish-American War is remembered as the “splendid little war.” What battle saw the largest number of American deaths in that war?

A: Manila Bay

B: Santiago de Cuba

C: San Juan Hill

D: Explosion of the USS Maine

Answer: C. Col. Theodore Roosevelt is famous for leading his Rough Riders in a charge up San Juan Hill in Cuba on July 1, 1898. And he did — although the fighting was actually on Kettle Hill and the Rough Riders walked (their horses hadn’t arrived). Still, the 144 soldiers who died there made it the war’s costliest battle for the Americans.

5. What is the highest political office held by an American killed in combat?

A: Governor

B: U.S. Senator

C: Vice President

D: Member of Congress

Answer: B. President Abraham Lincoln came under fire (though at a distance) while in office, but the highest-ranking sitting official to die in combat was U.S. Sen. Edward Baker, R-Ore., during the Civil War’s Battle of Ball’s Bluff in 1861.

6. World War II was the deadliest struggle in human history. On what battlefield did more Americans lay down their lives than any other in that conflict?

A: Pearl Harbor

B: D-Day Invasion at Normandy

C: Iwo Jima

D: Battle of the Bulge

Answer: D. Just when it seemed victory in Europe was in sight, the Germans launched a lethal counteroffensive. Americans paid dearly in the December 1944-January 1945 Battle of the Bulge, halting the attack at the cost of 19,000 lives.

7. Many famous U.S. entertainers served in World War II, and some made the ultimate sacrifice. Among them was this famous musician.

A: Glenn Miller

B: Tony Bennett

C: B.B. King

D: John Coltrane

Answer: A. All four of these musicians served in the military during WWII, but only Miller didn’t make it home. His flight from England to Paris disappeared over the English Channel in 1944, and he was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star.

About the Author

J. Mark Powell is a novelist, former TV journalist, and diehard history buff. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.